National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) received a grant to deliver a second year of STEM Gender Equity training for educators in the Fort Worth ISD. NAPE training helps educators identify possible sour ces of bias, recognize the unique gifts of others and embrace cultural diversity.

Texas A&M College of Education and Human Development received a grant to provide a STEM camp for middle school girls in collaboration with the Wylie ISD SMARTgirls program. The mission of SMARTgirls is to expose middle school girls to a variety of engineering disciplines through engaging hands-on activities that inspire and encourage their interest in STEM.

The University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management received a grant to provide an IT STEM camp for middle school girls.

Did you know U.S. women are earning fewer degrees in STEM fields today than they were a decade ago? According to this Washington Post article, bachelor’s degrees earned by women have declined in every category—from engineering to mathematics to computer sciences.

Photo credit: Washington Post

These statistics are unacceptable by any standard. High-Tech High Heels is committed to changing the trend, and the high-quality programs we fund are making a measurable impact to close the gender gap in STEM fields.

For example: since 2001, 996 girls have attended the Physics Camp delivered by our partner Design Connect Create!. Based on a 2006 Dallas ISD cohort, girls who attended Physics Camp were 2.6x more likely to earn a STEM degree and 5x more likely to earn an engineering degree than non-campers. Our support allows DCC to continue scaling the camp to allow more girls to attend.

Another example is how National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) is improving STEM gender equity among educators. NAPE’s programs build awareness and enhance skills in equity training, as well as dispel stereotypes about STEM careers. Since 2001, 767 STEM teachers have attended gender equity training, and 940 counselors have attended workshops on STEM careers in DFW. NAPE has reached about 40,000 students annually. Here is a recent video that shows NAPE’s impact.

Since High-Tech High Heels was founded, we have granted more than $410,000 to programs that further our mission. In 2015, in addition to funding our core programs, we funded exciting new programs to increase our impact. 2015 was our highest granting year to date, yet we still have more to do.

Your donations enable us to provide grants to more organizations and programs that close the gender gap in STEM. By introducing your colleagues, family and friends to High-Tech High Heels, you educate others about the reality of the gender gap and empower them to make a difference. Together, let’s change the statistics.

We are excited to share our 2016 Winter Grant Cycle recipients. We selected these programs based on their ability to deliver on specific criteria, including: preparing girls academically for successful college study in STEM fields; fostering girls’ interest, confidence and persistence in STEM studies and fields; and producing measurable results that show a positive impact on closing the gender gap.

Design Connect Create (DCC), our partner for delivering summer AP physics camps for girls, will offer six camp sessions in 2016. Our support will allow DCC to scale the camps by serving up to 220 girls this year—2.5x more than 2015! DCC will offer the camps in Dallas ISD, Mesquite ISD and Fort Worth ISD, as well as two open enrollment camps at the University of Texas at Dallas. Expected outcomes include higher AP-Physics test scores than non-campers, and long-term, DCC expects to increase the number of four-year degrees in STEM and Engineering earned by campers, based on 2006 cohort results.

The National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE)will deliver STEM Gender Equity training for educators in two North Texas school districts. NAPE training helps educators identify possible sources of bias, recognize the unique gifts of others and embrace cultural diversity. The expected outcome will be that educators will implement NAPE micromessaging strategies in their classrooms and encourage girls to pursue further study in STEM.

The II-VI Foundation will expand its Summer Science Splash Camp into North Texas at the University of Texas at Dallas. Our grant will subsidize 50 seats for girls, out of 100 total seats. The mission of the II-VI Foundation is to encourage and enable students to pursue a career in engineering, science and mathematics while maintaining a standard of excellence in that pursuit. Summer Science Splash Camp is a one week residential camp for middle school girls and boys, nurturing students’ interest in STEM subjects at a time when they are beginning to think about their future careers. The camp also operates in Pennsylvania, Florida and Mississippi.